The present invention relates to a connector, in particular a connector that mates with a conjugate connector in order to link the first and second signal conduction means which terminate in each of the connectors. Such connectors have a body provided with a cylindrical bore designed to house an insert of cylindrical shape. The insert is equipped to receive each of the ends of the first signal conduction device and to connect them to the ends of the second signal conduction device. The insert is also provided with a base and with a first flange which are intended to allow it to be positioned on an insert support.
Such connectors, making it possible to connect, mainly but not exclusively, electrical conductors or optical fibers or even a combination of the two, are well known and have to meet a very high quality of requirements especially with respect to the positioning of the insert. This is because the precise and stable position of the insert is a quality requirement of such connectors since they must allow the inter-penetration of the male and female parts of said connectors with corresponding parts of the second connector. Incorrect positioning inside the body of the insert or floating but uncontrolled positioning thereof, that is to say the angular and/or axial movement of the insert cannot be confined within predetermined limits, compromises the quality of the connection, especially when this is a connection comprising optical fibers, and prevents the apparatuses receiving the conducted signals from operating properly.
These connectors are used in several fields, such as civil and military aviation, various electronic appliances, etc, and have different dimensions depending on the use and especially on the power of the conducted signals. In the context of use in civil or military aviation in aircraft, these various elements are subjected to certain stresses, such as vibrations and sudden changes in acceleration, and they must always guarantee a continuous link between the corresponding conduction means.
The connectors used in the above-mentioned applications are mainly of two types. A first type, called push-pull, comprising a male connector and a female connector, which allows coupling between the two connectors by acting on an axially movable outer body of the male connector. The outer body makes it possible to control a locking bushing by which two connectors of conjugate type may be locked together by pushing in one direction and unlocked by pulling on the body. The other type relates to connectors which are coupled by other means, for example simple snap-fastening of one connector in the other or the equivalent. In both cases, the precise angular and axial position of the insert and the absence of uncontrolled floating are required in order to make an easy and reliable connection.
Within the context of an electrical connector, the insert also provides an insulation function and often in this field this insert is called an insulator, even when its function is not necessarily to insulate, for example when the connection concerns only optical fibers.
Usually, the insert has a cylindrical shape and is provided with axial passages in which the rods and/or bushings which are connected on the upstream side to the ends of a cable or of the optical fibers are housed. This insert is provided with a base and a flange which are housed in the insert holder. The insert holder consists of two semi-cylindrical shells which must at least partly match the insert in order to position it with respect to these half-shells. For this purpose, a groove matches the base while the positioning flange is housed in a female element, especially a hole whose dimensions and shape correspond to the flange of the insert. One of the half-shells is also provided with a male element, often having the shape of an axial projection which engages in a corresponding female element, especially a notch, inside the connector body in order to angularly position the insert/insert holder assembly. The insert is thus firstly positioned with respect to the insert holder and then the insert holder ensures that the assembly is centered inside the body of the connector. Complementary elements, such as washers and/or seals, together with a clamping means for example for the cable, and a nut or collet nut ensure axial retention of the insert/insert holder assembly on the upstream side.
This type of insert holder has a number of drawbacks relating to the centering and the mounting of the connector. Firstly, the two half-cylinders are manufactured by screw-machining, for cost reasons since this type of connector should not be expensive, and the manufacturing tolerances mean that the half-shells added around the insert either do not form a complete cylinder, and the shells float in an uncontrolled manner, or they are slightly greater than a half-shell, to the detriment of proper retention of the insert in its support. Thus, upon installation inside the body under the above-mentioned conditions, the insert holder is not positioned precisely and there may be a clearance with respect to the insert holder, that is to say it may float, without this floating being able to be controlled, something which may have unfortunate consequences when linking two connectors together. In addition, particular care must be taken when mounting, in order to choose shells which correspond as best as possible, thereby increasing the labor cost, and this has an impact on the manufacturing cost of the connector as well. Moreover, mounting the insert in its support and then inside the body requires several handling operations and often the insert floats beyond the permissible limits because of the manufacturing tolerances on its support, under the thrust of the cable, place it in a skew position and result, when coupling it to the corresponding connector, in a poor connection or even deform the male and female parts involved.
What is needed therefore is a connector, whether of the push-pull type or not, that has an insert and an insert holder which eliminates the above-mentioned drawbacks.
The connector according to the invention includes an insert having a second flange which ensures that it is positioned angularly in said body so as to mate with a conjugate female element of the body, the body has a shoulder against which the insert can bear via one of the radial walls of the base which positions it axially in the body and wherein the insert support is a piece formed from a hollow cylindrical part whose outside diameter corresponds to the diameter of the bore of the body followed by a cylindrical wall which extends over a peripheral length greater than a peripheral half-length. The wall is divided into two parts by an axial guiding groove with which the first flange of the insert mates.
The advantages of the connector according to the invention, and more particularly of the insert and the insert support, are significant. The insert is virtually identical to the inserts used up until now, apart from the second flange which allows the insert and the insert support to be angularly positioned inside the body by mating with a female element of the body. Thus, the angular positioning of the insert inside the body depends no longer on the screw-machining manufacture of the insert support but on the manufacturing tolerances on the insert which are much more precise and easy to meet. Retention of the insert by the insert support, and the fitting of it into the support, are very easy since all that is required is to insert the insert into the approximately cylindrical opening formed by the cylindrical wall, taking care to slide the first positioning flange in the groove provided for this purpose. Thus, it is very easy to mount the insert in the insert support and it does not require complicated manipulations. The limiting axial positioning of the insert on the insert support is provided by one of the radial walls of the base of the insert against the edge of the cylindrical wall.
In this case, the centering of the insert inside the body is achieved by the elements which are specific to it, namely the various bearing surfacesxe2x80x94those of the base and those of its downstream part inside the body which has, of course, bores of corresponding diameter, and not by an accumulation of pieces as is the case with the above-mentioned half-shells. The insert is no longer floating in an uncontrolled manner under the thrust of the cable or of the clamping system.
According to one embodiment, the hollow cylindrical part is provided on its outer surface with a guiding flange intended to mate with a conjugate female element located upstream of said body. This flange, with which the hollow cylindrical part of the insert support is provided, located upstream and mating with the female element of the body, ensures the angular positioning of the insert support and at the same time reinforces the correct angular positioning of the insert.
According to one embodiment, the two parts of the cylindrical wall are designed to pinch the insert elastically, that is to say this wall is slightly conical, which is easy to obtain since this cylindrical wall is made in two parts due to the groove. This also makes the manipulations during mounting easier since the insert is properly retained at the end of this cylindrical wall once the corresponding cylindrical part of the insert has been introduced into the cylindrical opening.
According to another embodiment, the insert support is provided on its cylindrical part with a slot into which a seal, for example an O-ring, can be placed, which makes it possible, when necessary, to ensure that the connector on the downstream side is sealed and it is not necessary to provide a seal which has to be protected by a washer against the clamping of the nut or collet nut. In addition, there is no risk of this seal being lost when dismantling the connector.
When the connector is intended to be used for optical fibers, the insert support is provided on its upstream part with a tubular part of smaller diameter, allowing the optical fiber or fibers to be entered and held in place, for example by injecting an adhesive or a similar product.
When the connector is of the push-pull type, the two female elements are located in the inner bushing of this connector, which is in contact with the insert and also the insert support.
Finally, to prevent the insert from possibly being incorrectly positioned with respect to the insert support, the insert is provided with a flange of larger dimensions than those of the groove in the insert holder and placed so that it is not possible to mount the insert on the insert support in an erroneous manner.